YO: you need to listen to this and hear how Nick's weekend was. This isn't a full episode of NLJBS, but it's a really great listen to hear a crazy story of what went down with Nick, the status of some of the amazing things you've been hearing about, and some Hotline call-ins that are real gems. We're damn near at the three hundred mark and No Lies is just rollin' right along and bringing you the kinds of things that you know and love the show for and we've got no intention of stopping now. Enjoy this update so you know what's up. And thanks for listenin'.
It starts off as many have in the past. "Chrissy Big Tats" and ya host Nick Swartz are talking tattoos and hip-hop and drinking throughout, but then a visitor from the Clifton Forge area who's known Nick since back in the day comes in. Christian Bunch joins the chat and things get hilarious. It's a fun one you won't want to miss. Sara comes in a few times and then hangs out towards the end. There's even a few very brief appearances by Bethany and even Richie. It's a great time as we move closer to episode three hundred. Thanks for listening.
It was a crazy week of walk-ins for everyone at Alley Cat Tattoo in beautiful Harrisonburg, Virginia. With Rylee there fillin' in for Porter and Smalley showing up to do some work and hang out, the citizens came in full force to receive amazing tattoos. Luckily, J had some time to sit down again with Nick and tell some excellent classic tales and funny stories. Trevor is there for the duration and we get some appearances by Andrew Conner, Richie Stutler and Rylee Jennings. It's a great time you won't want to miss, so enjoy it folks.
Rylee Jennings spent a bunch o' days tattooing at Alley Cat while Mr. Porter was doing his thing down at Serpent & the Rainbow Tattoo in Asheville, NC. After knockin' down a million walk-ins and feasting with Nick & the crew, Rylee sat down with everyone to hang out, talk shit and listen to Nick's bullshit for a few hours and we've got the audio. Rylee comes from Classic Tattoo in Richmond, VA and everyone has a great time with him as well as Nick and Jake Hockman and Richie Stutler. Don't miss the stories.
No guest this week. Just Nick hangin' out with you for a while and answering a few questions. Sometimes that's how it goes. Next week ought to be a return to some killer NLJBS content. If you're a fan of the show you'll still love what's going on here. And if you've ever considered giving Nick a ring on the old hotline, you should do it! You never know what you might hear. Thanks for listenin'.
Nick's down in the old stompin' grounds again, staying in scenic Clifton Forge, Virginia so that means we get to hear from cousin Dewayne once again and he don't disappoint. Schuyler returns to the show as well, hanging out with Nick and cooking amazing food and playing powerful songs for your listening experience. It's a hell of a hangout with lots of stories bein' told that are new to the show as well as a few bits you might have heard versions of before. Either way, it's a heck of a good time, so enjoy y'all.
Thomas Michael, known more commonly as Ugly Tom has returned to the NLJBS studios to sit down with Nick for a few hours before he tattoos Alley Cat's very own Sara Pennington. It's a great episode hearing these guys catch up on what's been happening in Tom's tattoo world down in Charlotte, NC. Andrew Conner comes by about half way through and the conversation just gets better. There's even some promising Shop Talk discussion and just all around cool tales told by great friends. Don't miss it.
It's another Hotline show where Nick will be answering the quesions and comments from you. After a few questions, though, a listener presented us with this question to pose to tattooers: "What would you be doing if you were not a tattoo artist." You get to hear answers from people like David "Dee" Self from Legacy Irons Tattoo and the band Old Heavy Hands, Scott Milyanovich from Inksmith and Rogers, Fred Pinkard of Salvation Tattoo and Alliance Supply, the one and only Shane Enholm, Alley Cat's Chris Porter and Trevor Smith and even Justin Weatherholz. It's a fun hour. Enjoy!
Have you ever had hoped to hear about huntin' and hip-hop and a whole lotta both? Well hell, Holmes, it's all here. Mr. Chris Porter has gone and done some delvin' into the world of the ancient stalking arts. Hear how it went as you listen to his sit-down with Nick, and then hear about all kinds of old times and new and a big huge helpin' of hip-hop discussion that can only be had by these two. It's a lot good times, so enjoy listenin' in on it.
Some shops need no introduction. They're that amazing. If you know even the slightest thing about tattoos, you've heard of Kings Ave. in New York. Mike Rubendall and many of the other guys from Kings Ave. have been on the show multiple times. It's that shop. Well this week we got a visit from another one of the amazing artists from Kings Ave. - Mike Brummett. He came down and killed it working at Alley Cat and then told his tale for Nick and some of the guys from the shop and a visiting Mark Bell from Main St. tattoo in Salem, just south of Rocktown. It's a great episode you don't want to miss. We get a great tattoo journey, some amazing old school shop stories as well as healthy peppering of Nick experiences. Enjoy the show.
It's not a full episode of NLJBS this week since you know how it goes: sometimes we've got killer guests comin' through or Nick's on the road, and sometimes it's just business as usual crankin' out killer tattoos and puttin' in the work. Well, we love our listeners and hearin' from you and we really appreciate all the folks how have been hittin' up the No Lies Hotline. Here's a few more of the recent comments and questions that have come through. Don't be shy - if you got something to say or something to ask us about, or just wanna fuck with us - hit it up and leave your voice or whatever. You might appear on one of these filler episodes. It's a great time all around, so enjoy.
Nick has been tryin' for a while to get this gentleman on the show ever since Brian Bruno told him they need to talk. Well, it finally worked out and Adam Marton drove up to Harrisonburg to see Nick at Alley Cat and hang out in the NLJBS studio surrounded by killer artwork and great booze. And this one was worth the wait. It's around four hours of amazing tattoo talk as Adam shares a ton of stories of names you've heard a lot on this show. He tells us about his days starting out at Empire Tattoo in Asheville, NC. Then there are a ton of stories in Richmond leading up to opening his own shop, Civilization Tattoo. It's just an all around awesome hang out with a great guy. Check it out.
On this episode, Nick heads up Interstate 81 to meet up with good friend Gary Gearhardt from Key City Tattoo, and they travel over to Annapolis, MD to the Orange Tattoo Company where they sit down and have a killer conversation about the Maryland / D.C. / Virginia tattoo scene and how it came to be. You are primarily listening to Brady Duncan and Jowe Nasatka with a bit from Franky Orange who we hope to have back on the show one day. There are a ton of great stories and a lot of history on this one, so check it out for sure.
J Ranno is a name that is talked about constantly at Alley Cat Tattoo, usually whenever something gets posted to Instagram by this gentleman. As in - did you see what he just posted - holy shit! We've always said here at No Lies Just Bullshit that this is what IG should be used for. Show people things you like. Things that are great. Don't look at negativity. Well, here's a great example because J came down from his private studio in Baltimore to do some tattooing at Alley Cat and now you also get to hear from him and about his art as Nick shoots the shit with him. Andrew hangs out for a while as well and it's a great conversation. We hop you enjoy it.
Joe Capobianco is back on the show again and just as awesome as last time. This time he's been travelling with Elliot Wells from Edinburgh, Scotland who does some killer tattooing and art. The guys join Nick at Alley Cat and have a great discussion of old tattoo shops and stories, great whiskey, popular bands, Lord of the Rings and international curiousities. Not to mention forced Cadillac driving and the associated ridicule. It's a great one you won't want to miss. And go check out these guys' art. For sure.
While still recovering from the hangover from Alley Cat's 20th anniversary party almost six months ago, Chris Fox comes back down south to hang out again. This time he's tattooing several members of the crew and recording with Nick. Chris owns Fish Ladder Tattoo in Lansing, Michigan and is a member of several bands. Porter is around for the ride, and you also catch a bit of Trevor, Richie and Jake in there as well. So enjoy.
We're kinda between episodes here, so Nick is gonna sit down on the edge of your bed and tuck you in with some timely bullshit and a recent samplin' of the HotLine. We're working hard over here at No Lies Just Bullshit and Alley Cat Tattoo to bring you word of the tat game and enlighten you to great art and artists. We've got some great episodes coming up, so check this out for now and thanks for listenin'.
It has finally happened: Andrew Conner has put out a small book of some of his sketches from recent years. This is a project that has been discussed for years, so Nick sits down with the man himself to discuss many things art, music and more and to talk about some of the ideas that went into the creation of this book to coincide with its release. It takes a long time to get to that subject because of all of the excellent bullshit between these two great friends which, if you didn't know it already, can be found on many other episodes of the show. So enjoy this discussion on creativity and excellence.
After leaving Denton, MD and Black Anchor Tattoo, Nick heads north up to Asbury Park, NJ to visit Electric Tattoo. It's here that Mike Schweigert returns to the show along with Robert Ryan and the very elusive Tom Yak. Lots of great stories are told about years past and a lot of great people. This is the content we try and bring you on the regular here at No Lies Just Bullshit and we hope you enjoy another piece of tattoo history and great storytelling.
It's a return to form for NLJBS as Nick hits the road to record some amazing shows. First stop on the trip is Denton, MD to see Krooked Ken of Black Anchor Tattoo. Ken has been doing this a very long time so you're gonna hear a ton of great stories and enjoy some of that excellent discussion and bullshit you've come to know and love. Black Anchor artist Patrik Carter is on hand as well and you might even hear Ken's son once or twice. It's great to be able to once again bring you these conversations with important artists you need to know about. Enjoy.
With a lot on our plate this week due to family matters, we don't have a full episode for y'all. But the good news is that we are on the road right now to get out there and record with some legends. So thanks for hangin' in there and waitin' on us, and thanks for listenin'!
Christopher Scott travels down south on a return trip after having visited Nick and Alley Cat with a friend earlier. This time we get to hear the origin story, as it often sounds like many other tattooer OG stories of breakin' into the business, only more. If you're into this sort of thing you are going to love this episode.
There's a lot going on in the worlds of No Lies Just Bullshit and Alley Cat Tattoo and this week there is no episode for us to bring to you. Nick explains it all in a quick message and we'll be back next week with something for you all. Thanks for listening and supporting us for so many years.
I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Hope everyone had a great New Year holiday and stayed safe and had fun. Well, if you want to know what it's like to chill out at Nick's joint for his traditional New Year's Eve Eve party, then look no further. This is an entire evening's worth of a jam session from some familiar voices that you've heard on the show before. A little banter before and after most of the tunes and just a good time of hanging out and playing music with your best friends. That's what we've got for you this week, so enjoy and let's do it again in 2022!
Get ready for some bluegrass and all around excellent music and storytelling from two awesome ladies. Molly Murphy is in the band The Judy Chops, from Harrisonburg and if you haven't heard of them you should definitely check them out. Lizzie Cahalin was back in Rocktown for the holidays, but appeared on an earlier NLJBS episode with Troutmouth if you wanna go find it first. It's a great time with great talk and tunes. Hope you enjoy the last episode of 2021. We're hanging in there and bringing you the bullshit.